Andrii Zvorygin

Andrii Zvorygin

From Resident Feedback to a Reliable Transportation Roadmap for Owen Sound

TLDR: Two residents recently asked me about evening and Sunday buses. A subsequent Reddit discussion showed support for going further toward 6 a.m. to midnight service, seven days a week. At the same time, riders described buses breaking down, winter service sometimes operating with only two available buses, missing GPS and pull cords, and paper cups being used to hold tickets. I reviewed the City’s studies, budget, accessibility rules, contract, fleet records, winter operations and available buses, then developed a phased transportation roadmap with measurable targets, comparative vehicle trials, municipal ownership and local maintenance.

Update — September 1, 2026

Resident feedback showed meaningful concern about the price of expanded service. The revised roadmap begins with a levy-neutral reliability and contract-transition year. Evening service remains a goal, with implementation conditional on recurring budget savings, transit-transition savings, sustainable grants, and expected fare revenue. See the authoritative transportation plan for the updated timeline.

How Resident Feedback Expanded the Plan

Evening transit service until approximately 10 p.m. was already part of my mayoral platform. Two recent emails asked about evening and Sunday service, including Sunday buses from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

When I reviewed Owen Sound’s previous transit studies, I found that residents have requested these improvements for years. Evening service was selected by 71% of transit-survey respondents when they were asked what would encourage them to use transit more. Higher frequency was selected by 47%.

I shared the initial findings on Reddit and asked residents what they thought. Several people felt Owen Sound should ultimately provide service from 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. They made the important point that greater availability can create greater ridership. People can begin relying on transit for employment, shopping, appointments, education and community activities when buses operate at the times those journeys occur.

That feedback expanded the proposal from evening and Sunday pilots into a four-phase service roadmap.

A Conditional Service Roadmap

The revised roadmap begins with Phase 0: Reliability and Transition Within the Existing Levy. Phase 0 preserves current routes, hours, and equivalent Mobility Transit service while the City audits reliability, preserves service through the apparent August 2027 contract decision, prepares fleet and local-maintenance options, and identifies verified recurring savings.

The earliest ordinary targets for later expansion are:

Phase 0, September 2026 to April 2028: Stabilize current service, complete the fleet and contract review, operate through a flexible bridge arrangement, and publish the evidence and funding options.
Phase 1, earliest May 2028: Add weekday evening service until 10 p.m. when recurring funding supports the net cost.
Phase 2, earliest May 2029: Add Sunday service from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. when Phase 1 qualifies and funding continues.
Phase 3, earliest May 2030: Fill the remaining gaps toward 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week when Phase 2 qualifies.
Phase 4, earliest May 2031: Extend service from 10 p.m. to midnight after a future Council decision when Phase 3 qualifies.

Each expansion phase would operate for a full year across every season. Results would be collected monthly and published quarterly. Phase 0 preparation and any service expansion can proceed only within the approved budget and applicable affordability, reliability, accessibility, ridership, and public-support gates.

The proposed ridership standard is:

Eight or more conventional passenger boardings per revenue vehicle-hour: strong off-peak performance
Six to 7.9 boardings: developing performance supporting continued operation and refinement
Below six boardings: review the schedule, route design, promotion and integrated service alternatives before further expansion

Advancement would also require at least 98% of scheduled service delivered, at least 85% on-time performance, operation within the Council-approved budget, accessibility results and at least 55% support for the next phase in a representative citywide survey that states the actual household cost.

Preliminary Costs After Expected Fares

Accessibility rules require specialized transportation to operate on at least the same days and hours as conventional transit. Equivalent Mobility Transit availability therefore forms a substantial part of the updated estimates.

After expected conventional fares and before any new grants, the preliminary municipal costs are:

These are preliminary planning ranges based on approximately 10,000 Owen Sound households. Operator quotations, final service design, specialized-service requirements, staffing, insurance, fleet capacity and contract arrangements still require confirmation. Identified grants could reduce the municipal share further.

The Deeper Fleet Reliability Problem

The discussion about service hours quickly revealed a deeper issue.

Residents report that Owen Sound can be reduced to approximately two available buses during difficult winter periods, and that even the remaining vehicles can experience breakdowns. This leaves little spare capacity to preserve the schedule when another vehicle requires repair.

Riders have also described substitute buses without working GPS or live Transit App tracking, visual and audible stop announcements, pull cords or equivalent stop-request controls. Some residents report tickets being handled through paper cups.

Each detail may appear small by itself. Together, they describe a service relying on improvised workarounds while riders wait without consistent information or passenger equipment.

City records describe five permanent 2023 ARBOC Spirit of Freedom low-floor buses. The first step should be an independent audit establishing why buses that are relatively new can reportedly become largely unavailable.

The audit should publish, where legally available:

Days each regular and substitute vehicle was available or unavailable
Kilometres travelled, maintenance history and preventative-maintenance completion
Breakdowns, road calls, missed runs and substitution days
Chassis, drivetrain, suspension, electrical, heating, ramp and door failures
GPS, stop-announcement and stop-request equipment availability
Parts delays, contractor responsibilities and available contract remedies
Winter traction incidents separated from mechanical failures

These are resident reports requiring verification. The audit would establish what is working, what is failing and who is responsible for addressing each problem.

Why Municipal Ownership Became Part of the Plan

The reported service conditions are the main impetus for exploring a municipally owned fleet.

City ownership would provide direct access to vehicle condition, maintenance records, parts delays and equipment failures. It would allow Owen Sound to select buses specifically for our routes, hills, passenger loads and winter conditions.

The City could also ensure that every regular and spare vehicle has the basic conveniences residents expect:

Reliable GPS and live Transit App integration
Visual and audible stop announcements
Accessible stop-request controls and pull cords
Consistent fare and ticket equipment
Effective heating and windshield defrosting
Reliable ramps, securements and accessibility equipment
Bicycle racks where appropriate

The purpose of local ownership is direct control and accountability. Owen Sound could identify problems, arrange proper repairs, train local mechanics, stock common parts and keep properly equipped spare vehicles available.

Ownership remains a preferred direction subject to an open-book comparison of capital costs, operating costs, maintenance, facilities, staffing, insurance and long-term vehicle value.

Using the 2027 Contract Decision Wisely

Public City reports make August 2027 the apparent decision point for the current Voyago operating agreement and related terminal lease. Council and staff should confirm the executed agreement’s renewal, extension and notice provisions.

Before that decision, the City could complete the fleet audit and negotiate a flexible bridge arrangement permitting leased or City-owned pilot buses to enter regular service.

Potential vehicles would undergo:

Full-load hill starts and braking tests
Accessibility boarding and wheelchair-securement tests
Heating, defrosting and passenger-equipment checks
Ground-clearance and drivetrain-protection inspections
Genuine winter testing on Owen Sound routes
Regular passenger service during overlapping trial periods
Driver and mechanic evaluations
Fuel or electricity measurements
Parts, warranty and diagnostic-access reviews

The comparison could include the existing ARBOC Spirit of Freedom buses, the compact low-floor Frontrunner, the AWD Gamechanger, the electric Karsan e-JEST and any supplier able to provide a Canadian-qualified true low-floor AWD accessible minibus.

A published scorecard would compare fleet availability, kilometres between road calls, maintenance labour per 1,000 kilometres, parts delays, winter traction, heating, accessibility, passenger capacity and estimated ten-year lifecycle cost.

Building Local Maintenance Capacity

The preferred direction is approximately six municipally owned, fully accessible vehicles:

Four true-low-floor fixed-route buses
One Mobility Transit vehicle
One accessible shared spare

A mixed fleet could use an AWD accessible vehicle for Mobility Transit and severe-weather resilience while retaining larger low-floor buses for regular routes.

Qualified municipal workers or a locally governed worker or non-profit co-operative could maintain the fleet through a transparent process. The City could train local mechanics during the pilot and warranty periods, stock high-use parts, share diagnostic tools and build local expertise.

Local tradespeople, manufacturers, co-operatives and makerspaces could eventually help produce specialized tools, fixtures, protective covers, documentation and suitable non-safety-critical components. Brakes, steering, suspension, structural systems, restraints and regulated accessibility components would continue using approved parts and qualified inspection procedures.

Connecting the Whole Journey

The transportation plan also reaches beyond buses.

A possible Hill Loop could connect Owen Sound District Secondary School, the downtown terminal, Georgian College, Brightshores Hospital, the 16th Street East shopping area and Heritage Place.

The City could work with trustees, school boards, families and public-health partners on cycling skills, helmet use, safer school routes, secure bicycle parking and transit connections. Owen Sound could also pursue Bicycle Friendly Community designation and consult residents about participating in Ontario’s e-scooter pilot.

Shared Stewardship could help Local Area residents identify suitable neighbourhood street repairs and bring priorities forward through Local Representatives. Better wayfinding and scheduling could connect local transit with GOST, regional services and visitor destinations.

A Plan Built Through Participation

This transportation roadmap grew directly through resident participation.

Emails identified an immediate service gap. City studies demonstrated that the need was longstanding. Reddit feedback expanded the ambition toward 6 a.m. to midnight service. Rider reports about unreliable and poorly equipped buses led to the fleet audit, municipal ownership and local-maintenance proposals. Questions about snow, hills, mechanics and accessibility produced the comparative winter-testing plan.

The plan will continue improving as riders, drivers, mechanics, residents with disabilities, taxpayers, suppliers and other residents contribute their experience.

Three questions remain especially important:

Does the phased path toward 6 a.m. to midnight service balance usefulness, affordability and evidence?
Should Owen Sound move toward municipally owned and locally maintained buses if the audit and trials support it?
Which wider connection deserves the greatest attention: frequency and routes, cycling and school travel, or regional transportation?

Read the complete transportation plan and supporting sources at “helpos.ca/bus” (https://helpos.ca/bus).

“Share transportation feedback” (https://helpos.ca/mayor/feedback)

Andrii Zvorygin Candidate for Mayor of Owen Sound